Vivo, which opened Sept. 25 in the new Hartford Marriott, has a few missions. The first is to NOT be known as the restaurant in the Hartford Marriott.

While it does serve an important hotel function (such as providing breakfast to hotel guests), ``We're a restaurant that happens to be in the Marriott,'' says Al Ferri, director of food and beverage. To that end, executive chef Sean Dutson has created a concept and series of menus he hopes will attract a local business crowd at lunch and everyone at dinner: ``Good food, done simply, with quality ingredients. Specializing in Mediterranean flair ingredients put together with northern California simple preparation.''

And that would be a second mission. Among the menu items he points to as fulfilling it: his pizzas. They are elongated, thin-crust (rolled out in a pasta machine), served on wood cutting boards. They have no sauce and are baked in a wood oven with such fresh ingredients as mascarpone, ricotta and fontina cheeses with roasted tomatoes and basil; sweet fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and grilled vidalia onion; barbecued chicken, red onion, mozzarella and fresh cilantro.

Dutson also points to what he calls the crudo platter. It is antipasto, buffet-style. There are three plates of different sizes available for eight to nine items daily -- always prosciutto di Parma, always a wheel of fresh parmigiano Reggiano, always some kind of olives and grilled vegetables, and then a changing array of other meats, cheeses and veggies.

The dinner menu uses the big plate/small plate concept. Guests could make a meal out of a couple of small plates, such as one of the green salads and a small plate of seared sea scallops with cauliflower, basil and prosciutto; or little neck clams made with pinot gris, oregano and green olive pesto; or rock shrimp and crab risotto with summer corn and red chilies, Dutson notes.

Among the big plates, Dutson points to the pork loin, which is covered in a spice rub and then slow-cooked in the rotisserie. It is sliced and warmed in the wood oven and served with a cider reduction sauce and mash of potatoes and apples roasted with sage.

Desserts feature strawberry and mascarpone napoleon, an amaretti- and chocolate-stuffed pear, and a cheese and dried-fruit plate -- all ``part of the fresh concept,'' Dutson says.

The wine list has about 135 offerings, relying heavily on California and Italy, but has a global smattering of selections from Oregon to Argentina. There are about a dozen half-bottle offerings and a large selection of ``wines by the ounce,'' which are 6-ounce (1 glass) or 12-ounce (2 glasses) pours. Full bottles range from $24 to $250.

Breakfast features a large a la carte menu as well as a full hot and cold buffet with made-to-order omelets and eggs.

Agua fruttas: Instead of cocktails, on the lunch menu Vivo has opted for non-alcoholic funky fruit drinks: 22 ounces of such combinations as watermelon crushed with mineral water and lime, or house-made lemonade with strawberries, spearmint, berries and citrus.

Brunch is back. Arugula has started up Sunday brunch again, something it has run seasonally the last two years, September through June. Owner Christiane Gehami likes to call it a ``pajama brunch,'' and indeed, folks have shown up in their pjs.

There will be a few menu changes from the old brunch menu, but you can count on Gehami's baked basket of goodies with pecan honey butter and fresh jams, brioche French toast, popovers filled with scrambled eggs, homemade honey cinnamon granola and ful medames, a Middle Eastern breakfast dish of slow-cooked fava beans with lemon, garlic, red onion, tomatoes, parsley and hard-boiled egg; 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 953 Farmington Ave., West Hartford; 860-561-4888.

Upcoming wine dinners include:

* Wednesday at Metro Bis, a ``breath of a wok'' dinner features Grace Young, author of ``The Breath of a Wok,'' and Michael Torino, Northeast regional sales manager for Bonny Doon Vineyards. A reception precedes a five-course dinner at 6:30 p.m. costing $75, or $140 per couple, plus tax and 18 percent tip. It includes a signed copy of the book. Reservations: 860-651-1908; 928 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury.